Moving On

Chapter - 6

Once upon a time, in the Room of Requirement

Ginevra Molly Weasley was in a fix. The DA session just ended and most people have left. It did not take a Hermione for her to figure out that this may be possibly the last session that she would attend. Her father in his last letter had hinted about removing her from Hogwarts due to the escalating conditions. What had her in a fix was Harry Potter. She liked him, but she started to wonder whether he liked her or not. Furthermore, she wondered whether she loved him or not! She was thinking of his last stay in The Burrow, she could not say that they talked at all. She wondered why could not he say what they will be doing to her, after all, aren't am I his girlfriend? was the lines of her thought. Her mind was moving like a metronome, one part of it said that he loved her. The other part questioned whether she loved him at all! Completely immersed in this, she did not see the one approaching her.

"Hey Gin!" greeted Michael, startling Ginny.

"Hello" replied Ginny wondering why her ex-boyfriend wanted to talk to her.

"Can we talk? I wanted to say something..." he trailed.

She looked at him for a brief period, and agreed with a nod. As they moved to a side, she noticed that there were only some people remaining, and the room was mostly empty.

"Gin... Please hear me out before saying something." He proceeded when she gave a nod. "I was thinking for a long time recently. When we broke up, you decided that you can't get over Harry, but after you left, I could not move on... I tried... but without you all these years did not feel right, Ginny... I know that now you both love each other. But... Is he the one you want? Can you be really happy with him? I know one thing. I still love you, Ginny. And I don't think I'll be able to move on. I know that I would not be able to compete with Harry Potter! But please Ginny, think... Is he the one? Please, Ginny... Even if not for me, think... for you... " His voice betrayed his desperation. "I don't think that I can be without you. Please... If he loved you, why would he leave you here, with these Carrow's! Wouldn't he come here? At least to save you? Please Ginny... Will you be my love again? I promise this time, Ginny, I don't know what I did wrong last time. But I would make sure not to do that again."

Ginny wanted to say no, say that she loves only Harry, but some of his questions made her wonder that. She decided to put it for later, at least to calm him for now and said "I'll think about it", without knowing the repercussions that sentence would have.

Ministry of Magic - Atrium

Two cloaked figures walked swiftly towards the lift, deep in discussion. The grilles slid shut with a crash and the lift started to move slowly. The shorter of the two spoke. "Is it really necessary, Minister?" asked Head Auror Savage.

"Head Savage, this is the least we can do. We have to take some action! What would be the difference between us and our predecessors? Last time, they escaped without as much as a slap on the wrist and you know what happened. They don't change at all! I too don't like to do it, but we have to. We really can't afford another dark lord!"

"But the one's with money would again escape, wouldn't they?"

"That's why I am proposing that we arrest everyone who has a dark mark and give them veritaserum."

"Level One, Minister Of Magic and Support Staff," said the cool voice.

The two moved out of the lift, not noticing a very angry pink cardigan donned woman, who was muttering on the lines of "Purer bloods being arrested for doing their good work..."

The Burrow

"... Yeah! They might be snogging right now! After all, she is a mudblood"

"RONALD BILLUS WEASLY! For gods-sake! They are your friends! What's the difference between you and Malfoy!" shouted Ginny at the top of her voice.

"And friends don't cheat behind the back! Who knows for how long they were -"

"Did you ever seen them cheating? Don't act like an arse Ron! You are one!"

"So, you are dumping your family to support them? Maybe you are-"

"Finish that and you'll know what's pain is," said Ginny with a glare that would have killed him. "YOU was the one who dumped them and ran away! YOU were the one, who wooed Hermione! She was, no, IS too good for you! Thank God, she DID break up with you! I can;t imagine her future with you. At least, she 'll be happy! I don't think you are a Weasley. Let's see what mum and dad say after they hear you said THAT word!" she snapped and left the room.

"Support them... I'll show you what I can do. They were true! Damn that mudblood!" he muttered as he prepared himself for the interview. "I'll show them..."

The Potion Laboratory

Severus was a happy man. He could finally get some rest from two men controlling his life and was relaxing, doing the one thing he liked to do the most - Brewing potions. No one could disturb him. No pesky dunderheads, No spying on dark-lords, No meddling headmasters... Just as he was thinking about being left alone for good, he heard a knock on his door. Frustrated, he hastily cast a stasis on the cauldron and went to answer the door, completely oblivious of the other cauldron for the improved calming potion to which he experimentally added Ashwinder eggs and Pearl Dust. He opened the door to find someone who he thought would never see again, let alone talk.

"Hello, Severus," said the cool voice of Wilda Griffiths. Severus could not help but be amused that she looked the same after all this time, even if he did not like the sport of Quidditch, he could appreciate the effects it had on the physique of the players. He wanted to invite her in, but did not know how it would be taken. Luckily, she solved his dilemma by asking "Not gonna invite me in, Sev?"

"Sure, come in!" he said, he was glad that she did not hold the past happenings against him. "So, What brings you here Wilda?" he asked.

"Aww, Severus. Do you think that I need a reason to visit my friend once a while?". Severus could not help but snort in his mind at that blatant lie. She was the one who along with a lot of people, stopped even talking to him after the third year. She was not that close to him even before that. Suspecting something, he offered her to sit and was contemplating on a light scan of thoughts. Unexpectedly, an unknown bottle fell into the cauldron from the shelf above, as he turned hearing a splashing sound. He saw that the ingredient had reacted and was foaming, berating himself for the negligence, he moved towards it to stop it reacting without noticing Wilda following him. Before he could reach it, the cauldron exploded, as they fell back due to some kind of backlash of magic in the potion, he could swear that he head a bottle crack in his guest's robes. Covered in the remnants of the potions, he lost consciousness.

The Infirmary

"Nah... I don't think I am going to be an Auror. After all that... No, I think I am going to continue Hogwarts. You know... decide what to do after the seventh year. I can use a year without Dark-Lords and fighting... I want to see how life would be for a normal student."

Hermione continued "Which is not possible, so why not go for a... you know... semi-normal," she asked with a wink, making them both laugh.

"Maybe. So, What you're gonna do?" he asked.

"I am going to go for a year at Hogwarts. There are things that I want to do first, Go and remove the memory charm on my parents. And hope that they forgive me... " she contemplated, getting teary-eyed. Trying to change topics and possibly cheer up the mood, Harry led the conversation straight to a land mine.

"... And how's things going between... you and Ron?" he asked.

"Please don't talk to me about that... I broke up with him." Harry really could not explain why he felt happy at that, deciding to think about it later, he continued to listen. "I don't think, that... it would have worked between us. I accepted him for who he was, I thought he loved me. You can say that it's possessiveness, but no... It was like putting me into a cage. He expected me to be a doll, to do as he wished. I got purely disgusted at him. I don't think that I could have stood by, letting him degrade me. Thank god! I escaped!" she said, unknown that her sentiments matched that of her well-wishers. "And I too wanted to ask, how's things going between you and Ginny?"

"She... I think that relationship is over. Thinking about things... I feel like that I should have at least explained why we left. Who knows what she had to go through..." Knowing her friend, she asked, "Harry, What did happen?"

"We were walking that day, and... I was thinking about something. And missed out on the conversation. She felt that we never knew each other, I mean the - real us. She said that I was too good for her and ran away..." he trailed, "And?" she pushed. "I ran after her. And she was kissing Corner..." "Oh... Harry... I am sorry. I did not... "

"No, you did not know. Can we talk about something less depressing? Something 'sans-redheads'?" he asked with a small smile on his face with the hyphenating action making her giggle at that. He felt a little more happier on seeing her giggle and he too joined in the laugh, happy that he could cheer her up.

"Sure, Harry," said she.

And the evening went on, with lots of laughter and fun, until a certain explosion disturbed them.

"Did you hear that?" they asked in unison to each other. Slightly blushing at the simultaneous questioning.

"Let's go and see!" said Harry and started to move, carefully moving his right leg, not to injure it more.

She nearly shouted, "But Harry, you should not move with your leg!".

"But someone might need help, Hermione. We should see what happened. At least to alert someone!"

Unwillingly she accepting the fact, she too got up from her bed. Helping him off the bed, they both took their wands from the bedside cabinet and hurried.

She thought out loud, "How to find the source of the blast?"

"Portraits and ghosts!" he shouted. Congratulating himself for the idea, he started moving towards the nearest portrait. Amused at how fast his mind worked during troubles, she followed him.

They saw a portrait of a man in the hospital wing, which they have both seen before, but never interacted with. Nearing it, she asked "Hello? Do you have any other portraits in the castle? Can you ask someone from where the blast sound came from?"

The man the portrait nodded once and went away. She marveled at the speed at which news spread through the portraits but after all, they had no to very less work and mostly spent time through gossiping and talking to other portraits. As she was thinking, the man came back, he nearly shouted, "There was an accident at the potion's master's laboratory in the dungeons. It seems no one has arrived to help."

With a said-so look, Harry said "Let's go! We have to save them. Whoever they are!"

Agreeing with him, she nodded, and they left hurriedly at the maximum speed Harry's leg would allow.

The Potion Laboratory

"Oh my!" gasped Hermione, seeing the potion master and a woman, lying on the floor, covered in potions and glass pieces.

"Call Madam Pomfrey! I'll try to remove the glass and heal the minor cuts!" she swiftly said, before pulling out her wand and started to wave it, muttering incantations.

Harry pulled out his wand, only now he noticed that it was the elder wand. He cast the messenger spell, thinking the message to Madam Pomfrey in his mind. A nearly solid silver stag jumped from his wand and disappeared through the stone wall.

"Harry! We have to take them to the Infirmary. I tried but could not remove the potion on them, nothing works on it. I removed the glass shrapnel but I don't want to heal the cuts with the potion in them. We have to hurry." she said.

"Let's levitate them," he said and proceeded to levitate Severus Snape and moved towards the door, marveling at the ease of controlling his magic with the elder wand.